Garment



5 Sept; 29, 1925. 5 1,555,622

A. H. BARLOW GARMENT Filed March '10, 192:5

Patented Sept. 29, 1925.

UNITED STATES o-Frrc s.

ALFRED n. BARLOW, on Los-ANcnLns, CALIFORNIA, AssIeoR rocnonenfn; BAR- LowA n arosnrna. DESMOND, BOTH or coBRY, PENNSYLVANIA.

. GAR ENT.

Application'filed March 1923: seriaiN-t. 624,102.

renewable, external; and quickly detachable and easily" replaceable means adapted to be released to relieve strainand wear and allow thew'earer to rest, and thereby to prolong the useful lifeand' increase the servicea'bility and attractiveness of corsets, bifassieres, confiners, supporting belts, or other garmerits of the corset type.

It is an object of my invention to provide novel means external to the corset orgarment proper and sorelated thereto as tobe released to permit great freedom of'movement'ofthelimbs of thewearer, and for this purpose I provide renewable elastic units which are termed gores and which are adapted to be removably secured at their lateral edges only, these units beingsuitable to be appliedon a corset adjacent the bottom or thetop, which may be cut away or otherwise adapted to permit freedom of movement, in any usual manner, so as to-provide areas across which my renewable units may extend in such manner as to hold the parts of the person from bulging andto affordunder extra strainan elastic andyielding contact with, for example, the breast or the lower limbs ofthe wearer.

It is a further obj ect of my invention to provide a garment with separable gores or sections, which may contain elastic material and which may be conveniently removed and replaced, as may be advantageous, for example, when said gores or sections wear out sooner than the balanceof the garment or when the garment is to be laundered, or even when an infant is to nurse.

Other objects of my invention will appear from the following description and the appended claim.

It is believed that the general character of my invention will be readily understood from the following descriptions of embodiments thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which-- i 1' is a front view of a corset provided" with my improvements.

Fig; 2 is a view of a quickly detachable l and easily replaceable elastic gore, such as may be placed'on construction.

Referring specifically to" the forms of my invention shown in the drawings, 1 is the body of a corset, which may be of any usual or preferred design, except-that it may be providedwith sections, such as the elastic sections S, which may be separately remov able,=and that it is showniascut away, inthe region of the breasts, as shown in dotted lines at'2, and as also cutaway or otherwise provided" with an areatof freedom near the;

bottom, asshown at 3,;and as provided with.

removable gores 4', containin g an elastic 'ele ment with suitable bindings. 5 at the ends thereof, iandi optionally withsuch a plurality of sets of buttonholes, or other securing means, as inaypermit of alternative modesof attachment, according to conditions or thepreference of the wearer.

It'will be understood: that the gores re ferred to may have-a rectangular or other form, provided only" thatv they are made easily removable from the body of corset which may be regarded as complete without garments of my improved them, in the sense that allof the usual parts of the corset are completely stitched or otherwise secured together. Any preferredmeans may be'employedfor securing my removable gores, and in Fig. 1: I have suggested at 7 the use of hooks and eyes, button andbutton holes being shown at 8, and concealed metallic claspsorsnaps being indicated'at 9. Especially in the case of those gores which are used at the bottom of a garment and." adjacent to the limbs of the wearer, I find it entirely satisfactory torely upon mere stitching 11 to secure the removable gores in place after all of the usual stitching done upon the garment has been completed. In any case, these removable elastic gores are preferably secured only at their ends or vertical edges and when a corset, or the like, is to be laundered, or when new gores are to be supplied, the removable gore may be quickly detached, without detriment to the garment or in any way disturbing its structure, and one of my new and 7 completely finished gores may be promptly put in its place. By a suitable duplication of the fastening means upon the garment, as shown at 7 and 8, or upon the gore, as shown at 8 and 9 I may also provide for adjustments suitableoto the convenience or taste of the wearer.

It being usual to provide stays in various portions of garments of the corset type, and also clasps by which the garment is secured, various means have been employed to prevent the ends of such clasps or stays from causing the cloth to wear through opposite such ends. For example, the ends of the stiffening elements referred to have been covered with extra thicknesses of fabric; but this expedient does not prevent such wear "on the outside of the garment, opposite the ends of the clasps or stays, as will tend quickly to fray the garment, giving it an unsightly appearance and tending to its rapid deterioration.

- From the foregoing it will be understood that although the clasps and stays are in-- ternal to the corset, or similar garment, the points of wear are external; and in view of this fact I prefer to apply, on the outside of the garment and over the ends of such clasps and stays as are otherwise likely to protrude, reinforcing or guard elements 12 preferably of greater wear-resisting qualities than the garment body material, which is usually cloth. These guard elements or compensatory reinforcements may be of leather, for example, and they may be either permanently or removably secured, and the employment therewith of any of the fastening means herein mentioned is optional.

Although in many corsets or similar garmentswe prefer to use elastic material-only in the form of removable gores, there exists also a demand for garments in which an entire vertical section, such as the lateral section S, shall be formed of elastic material. An important objection to the use of such sections has been the fact that, as indicated above, the known elastic materials, such as rubber, are not as durable as could be desired; and the life of the rubber incororated therein has commonly determined the life of the garment. To overcome this difficulty, it is an object of my present in- =vention to provide garments of the corset type with removable and renewable standardized sections, both the mentioned sections and the associated parts of the garment being separately completely finished, as by hemming or binding, so that these removable sections, like my gores and my compensatory reinforcements described above, may be made and sold as separate articles of commerce, adapted to be removably secured in any of the respective ways suggested above,

or otherwise.

Especial attention is called to the fact that the gores 4 are flat rectangular sections of strong elastic material and that the gores are larger than the cut away portions 2, so as to cover the edges of the material around the cut away portions, and that the gores are fastened along their vertical edges so as to apply strain in horizontal lines, and that it is' the purpose to fasten the gores completely when it is desired to dress up and suppress the bulging portions of the person,

and that the gores are to be released at least at one side when the person desired to be comfortable and rest. The elasticity of the gores is to be sufficient to hold, except when extra strain is applied.

It will be understood that various features of my invention might be independent ly used, and also that various modifications might be made without departing from the 1 Spirit and scope of my invention as the same is indicated above and in therfollowing claim.

What I claim is The combination with 7 thigh covering portions, a section of the thigh covering portions at the front of each thigh being cut away providing an area of freedom, of a gore consisting of strong fiat ALFRED H. BARLOIV.

a corset having 

